New Albany is a state of mind … but whose? Since 2004, we’ve been observing the contemporary scene in this slowly awakening old river town. If it’s true that a pre-digital stopped clock is right twice a day, when will New Albany learn to tell time?

Sunday, April 02, 2017

Dunman (and Lady Parts Justice): "Bevin and his allies can’t ban abortion, no matter how much they hate it."

For me, links to essays like Joe Dunman's (below) are helpful segues to further reading.

Consequently, I stumbled across the web page of Lady Parts Justice, which has proven to be helpful and informative over Sunday morning coffee.

Mission StatementLady Parts Justice is the first not safe for work, rapid response reproductive rights messaging hub that uses comedy, culture and digital media to sound an alarm about the terrifying erosion of reproductive access so people will get off their asses and reclaim their rights.About the Name “Lady Parts Justice”The name “Lady Parts Justice” came from an incident involving a former Michigan state representative and a tireless advocate for abortion rights named Lisa Brown. In 2012, at the same time we were developing our organization, Lisa was fighting against dozens of horrible regressive anti abortion bills in Lansing. In one contentious battle, The Speaker of the House banned Lisa from the statehouse floor for using the word vagina when arguing against a transvaginal ultrasound bill- a bill that would have forced pregnant people to undergo a state mandated transvaginal probe before they could have an abortion. When she asked what she SHOULD use instead of vagina, the Speaker of the House suggested something less offensive like “lady parts.” The actual offense – a politician who was offended by the word vagina yet felt an absolute entitlement to legislate it – inspired us to take Lisa Brown’s fight and expose this kind of hypocrisy by choosing Lady Parts Justice as our name.Like “Nasty Woman Unite” or “Pussy Grabs Back,” “Lady Parts Justice” is a clap back to yet another extremist politician feeling entitled to legislate bodily autonomy. At LPJ, we don’t connect reproductive parts with gender, and we advocate strongly for the reproductive health and rights of trans men, trans women, and all non-binary people. We believe whatever your gender identity, you have the right to access safe, dignified and affordable reproductive healthcare.

Ambulance services and hospitals automatically transport and treat all emergency patients no matter where they come from. That’s what they do. If any kind of medical emergency arises, a call to 911 is all you need to secure ambulance transport to a hospital for immediate treatment.

But under Kentucky law, abortion providers must enter into written agreements with hospitals and ambulance services by which they agree to transport and treat abortion patients who encounter “unforeseen complications.” In other words, abortion clinics must go out of their way to get hospitals and ambulances to promise to do the job they’re already obligated to do.

Why? Because in 1998, the Kentucky General Assembly passed KRS 216B.0435, a law that creates medically unnecessary red tape for abortion clinics. Laws such as this are commonly referred to as “TRAP” laws, or Targeted Regulations of Abortion Providers, and they are purposely designed to complicate and burden the provision of abortion services.

TRAP laws have been used to shut down clinics all over the country. And now, they’re being used by Gov. Matt Bevin to effectively ban abortion in Kentucky.

On March 13, the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services sent a letter to the EMW Surgical Center in Louisville, revoking its license and ordering it to stop providing abortions. Why? Because, the cabinet claims, EMW has deficient “transfer agreements” and is therefore in violation of state law.

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How will we know that downtown revitalization is succeeding?

Downtown businessmen don't have to be told that racism is unacceptable.

Downtown coffee shops have enough business to be open evenings and weekends.